My journey from couch potato to half marathon runner, all in the name of charity!

Sunday, 6 November 2011

A brief introduction!

So what is this blog all about?
Last year my Fiance Richard was diagnosed with Lymphoma. A diagnosis that came totally out of the blue and turned our world upside down. Richard started his chemotherapy a week after our 3rd child was born.
His treatment was a series of intravenous drugs given through a drip into his arm. The drugs made him sick, very tired and made all his hair fall out.
Despite all this he remained positive and focused on getting better which thankfully he has!
He had the majority of his treatment at our local hospital Withybush, on their chemo day unit. I could not have been more impressed with the way we were all treated by the staff on the ward. The first day we walked in feeling very apprehensive about what was going to happen. We were instantly put at ease by the nurses and health care assistants. They knew Richards name straight away, they chatted to us about "normal" things and really made the whole process that much more bearable. The staff on the ward have a tough job, dealing daily with cancer patients, some who get better and some who are not so lucky yet they always have a smile.
So after raising money for the Lymphoma Association and Cancer Research last year I decided that my final piece of fundraising would be for the chemo ward at the hospital. I wanted to do something that would be challenging for me so decided on a half marathon. It probably does not sound like a big challenge but for someone as unfit as me its going to be tough. I struggle to do 5K after months of training so 13 miles is going to be a toughie!
So here I am, at the age of 32, 3 children and a stray cat, training to do my first half marathon. I am not a runner by any stretch of the imagination, top heavy with a bowling ball for a tummy but hey, what is the point of a challenge that is not challenging!

So hopefully you will join me as I train for the run (not literally although feel free) and perhaps even spare a little towards my £1000 target? My sponsorship page is http://www.everyclick.com/allysmarathon